Parents are naming their babies with random words, and it's kind of cool

Monica Beyer is a mom of four and has been writing professionally since 2000, when her first book, Baby Talk, was published. Her main area of interest is attachment parenting and all that goes with it, including breastfeeding, co-sleepin...

Forget the baby name books — the latest naming trend is all about the dictionary

When it comes to baby names, parents have plenty of inspiration all around them.

But instead of going the traditional route of checking their family tree or picking up a baby name book, these days a lot more moms and dads are going with... the dictionary?

A look at the 2014 popular baby names list from the Social Security Administration shows an increase in parents using heretofore random words as names for their little ones. We know you're familiar with some of the more random names celebs are bestowing upon their own little cherubs — such as Apple (thanks, Gwyneth Paltrow) — but these rather unique choices aren't limited to the rich and famous.

When you think about it, words have a long history of becoming names. The so-called virtue names (such as Faith, Hope, Grace and Charity) came into our collective baby name pool centuries ago, and names that indicate real-world objects or actions are definitely prevalent (for example, you probably know people named Hunter, Violet, Clay and Penny).

And the bar continues to rise, at least as far as U.S. baby names go. Based on the 2014 list alone, we've uncovered quite a few unique names that are basically just words repurposed into monikers for actual babies. Need some ideas? Here are some of the best!